Cake display package



March 10, 195,3 H, G, GRANT 2,630,915

CAKE DISPLAY PACKAGE Filed May 25, 1950 INVENTOR BY ff/W 7W ATTORNEY Patented Mar. 10, 1953 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE 2,63i,9l`v

(Jlflli'U DISPLAY PACKAGE nnen attirant, aaien, N. c. VApplicatil'm-May 25, 1950; Serial'No'. 164,169A

I 1f Claim. c 1

This invention relates toa container for holding articles having a tacky surface and more particularly to a container for holding iced cakes and the like.

I-feretcfore in the art, much difficulty has been encountered in `devising a container for articles having a tacky surface which would suiciently protect the tacky surface from' damage when wrapped, and yet be of such a construction that it could be easily :and readily assembled, and could properly display the article contained therein. Previousattemp-ts. to solve this problem have resulted in containers which are of complicated structures and consequently dimcult and time-consuming to assemble. Most of these attempts have manifested limited success because the complicated structure-s have made it necessary to have the container itself become the feature of attractiveness due. to the fact that the article contained therein could not be properly displayed. This situation is exemplified by' Patent'No. 1,941,538 to T. C. Costello.

It is an object of this invention to provide a container for holding articles having a tacky surface that will afford a better protection tothe tacky surface when wrapped than has heretofore been available.

It is another object of thisinvention to provide a container for this purpose that is ofv a simple construction to allow' a more easilyv and readily assemblage than has heretofore been available.

It is another objectV of this invention to provide a display container for cakes and the like that will afford visual' access to'r a maximum area of the article contained therein.

Other objects land advantages of the present invention will become apparent from a study of the following specification when considered in conjunction with the drawings, in which:

Figure 1 is a perspective view of an assembled container constructed according to the principles of the present invention showing a cake on display within the container and under a transparent wrapper constituting a part of the container.

Figure 2 is a view in vertical section taken along the line 2 2 of Figure 1;

Figure 3 is a plan view of the blank which forms the base member of the container; and

Figure 4 is a plan view of the blank which forms a cross member of the container.

Figure 1 shows the assembled container holding an iced cake I0. The cake I0 is encased in a transparent wrapping II and rests on a sup- (Cl. 26S-45.33)

cardboard, or other suitable material..A This board is provided with scoring at I4 and I5 to divide the board into alarge'` central portion I5 and smaller end portionsv II` and I8 Flachi endV portion has. a slot I9 cut. therein.v4 The support member l2 is. adaptedito being madeintoa U- shaped member by folding the end" portions upwardly along scored linesf4 and' I5. It is' in this shape. that it is used withthe' calce I0 resting onV theV central portion I6;`

The cross member; I3iI as: shownv in Figure 4 consists of a strip of tough resilient-,paper boa-Id;

or carboard. This stripl may ber-cut from the same material assupportmem'ber I2, except thatV the cutting 'procedureisidifferent; Supportmember I2 mustbelcutwithlthegrain of the paper board to facilitate thel bending alon'gthe scored lines It and I5, whereas cross member'.v Ii'mustV be cut against the grainof the paper board toi prevent cracking or sharp bending at any pointl along? its length so" that when-member I3 .isi in position iti will. tend to? assumev thel shape of ai Y The lengthA ofY cross member I 3is equal. to? or''sli'ght1y 'greater' bow or arch.` duel to its. resilience.

than the. blank from which supportimemberv I2 is cut. The length ofi member- I3 depends on the degree ofA arch required lin theV strip I3 above the support I2. This heightisidependent upon the'Y size ofw the article to.. be'.v packaged and isY variable.` Thewidthof the cross-member- I3 is substantially equal to the widthl of slots I9 ini theends ofthe supportrmember I2. Each end of Across'member I3' passes throughslotsA I9 from the outside to."theinsideofsupportmeinber- I2- thus raising a resilient -arch lsupport across the top of support member I2.

When pressure is exerted downwardly against the arched member I3 the pressure brings the ends of arched cross member I3 in contact with the bottom E6 of the support member I2, causing the resilient arched cross member I3 to release contact with end portions I1 and I8 of support I2. When downward pressure is removed, the resilient arched cross member I3 springs upward and away from the top of the cake I0, thus releasing the pressure of the ends of cross member I3 against the base I6 and causing a return of pressure to the end portionsy il and I8.

A transparent wrapper is then drawn acrossl the package in such a manner as to encase the package rmly but not tightly. This firm pressure of the transparent wrapper exerts suiiicient pressure on the arched cross member I3 to hold the end portions Il and I8 in vertical position. The transparent wrapper must be neither too loose nor too tight but must allow for the play of pressure downward on arched cross member I3 against the end portions I'I and I8 of support I2, so that the resilience of I3 is unimpaired and will always respond in rebound from pressure.

To assemble the various parts of the container and to Wrap a cake edectively, the procedure is as follows. The support member I2 is first bent at scored lines I4 and I5 into a U-shape. Then the iced cake I mounted on a, paper board base is put into support member I2 by placing it on central portion I6. The cake base has the same dimensions as the cake I0 so that its edge will act as a guide during the icing of the cake I0. It is important to note that the end portions I1 and I8 stand at a height above the level of the iced cake Iii. The cross member i3 is then arched suiiiciently to insert its respective ends into slots I9 in end portions II and I8 of support member I2. The central portion of cross member I3 prevents the wrapping I I from contacting the cake Iii and damaging its icing. Also the coaction of the support member I2 and cross member I3 permits a dead air space between the wrapping II and the cake IIJ. This serves to keep the icing moist.

The resilience of the material used in the cross member I3 is of such a nature that pressure exerted from the outside across the top of the strip causes the strip to bend without breaking and rebound immediately once the pressure is removed. Suitable materials for cross member I3 are railroad board, card stock or the like. In addition, the strip may serve a dual purpose and may be imprinted with trade names, cake and icing specifications, or other printing necessary to proper labeling of the package. In this -manner all other forms of labeling may be entirely eliminated.

If desired, each end portion of the support member I2 may be provided with two slots. However, if two slots are used, the end portion of the strip must pass through the iirst slot from the inside to the ouside and through the second from the outside to the inside in order to have the edge of the end portion of the cross member resting on the central portion of the support member. In this instance, the cross member aiords no support to the external edge of the end portion of the support member. If the end portion of the cross member is presented to the slots oppositely, it will result in not supporting the internal edge of the end portion of the cross member.

What has been described heretofore is a specific embodiment of this invention. Other and further embodiments, as well as various modifications obvious from this description to one skilled in the art, are within the contemplation and spirit of this invention. For example, it may be desirable to provide a cake support member having upstanding side portions at each side thereof in addition to the upstanding end portions. This may be particularly suitable if the support could be economic-ally manufactured from transparent material. In using such an embodiment it would then be desirable to use two cross members, one engaging slots in the end portions and the other engaging slots in the side portions.

What is claimed is:

A package comprising an article having a tacky surface, a protective and display container therefor consisting essentiallsr of a U-shaped support having a central portion and two upstanding end portions each having a slot near the top edge, a resilient, non-scored cardboard cross member cut lengthwise against the grain to permit arching but resist sharp bending or cracking, said cross member having a slightly greater length than the overall length of the U-shaped support when in iiattened condition and extending over the top of the support in the form of an arch with each end passing downwardly through the slot in each upstanding end portion from the outside to the inside and resting on the bottom of the support, a transparent wrapping enclosing the support and cross member, and said cross member constituting a protective element to prevent the wrapping from contacting the top tacky surface of the article while the pressure exerted by the wrapping on the arch of the cross member causes spreading of the upstanding end portions away from the side tacky surf aces of the article.

HELEN G. GRANT.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the iile of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,941,538 Costello Jan. 2, 1934 2,033,526 Kinkenon Mar. 10, 1936 2,106,425 Grant Jan. 25, 1938 2,200,867 Weltmer May 14, 1940 2,290,971 King July 28, 1942 2,348,488 McLellan et al May 9, 1944 2,522,620 Kennedy Sept. 19, 1950 

